Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano saxophone, but refused to play soprano after 1946. Along with Benny Carter, Hodges is considered to be one of the definitive alto saxophone players of the big band era.
Ivie Anderson was an American jazz singer. Anderson was a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra for more than a decade.
The swing era was the period (1933–1947) when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though this was its most popular period, the music had actually been around since the late 1920s and early 1930s, being played by black bands led by such artists as Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Bennie Moten, Cab Calloway, Earl Hines, and Fletcher Henderson, and white bands from the 1920s led by the likes of Jean Goldkette, Russ Morgan and Isham Jones. An early milestone in the era was from "the King of Swing" Benny Goodman's performance at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles on August 21, 1935, bringing the music to the rest of the country. The 1930s also became the era of other great soloists: the tenor saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Lester Young; the alto saxophonists Benny Carter and Johnny Hodges; the drummers Chick Webb, Gene Krupa, Jo Jones and Sid Catlett; the pianists Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson; the trumpeters Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Bunny Berigan, and Rex Stewart.
Harry Howell Carney was a jazz saxophonist and clarinettist who spent over four decades as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He played a variety of instruments, but primarily used the baritone saxophone, being a critical influence on the instrument in jazz.
"In a Sentimental Mood" is a jazz composition by Duke Ellington. He composed the piece in 1935 and recorded it with his orchestra during the same year. Lyrics were written by Manny Kurtz; Ellington's manager Irving Mills gave himself a percentage of the publishing, so the song was credited to all three. Other popular versions in 1935/36 were by Benny Goodman and by Mills Blue Rhythm Band. The opening notes of the song's melody resemble Gershwin's "Someone To Watch Over Me".
The Blanton–Webster Band is a compilation album that combines the master takes of all the recordings by Duke Ellington's Orchestra during the years of 1940 to 1942, involving bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. The recordings were originally made for RCA Victor during what many critics regard as the Ellington orchestra's golden period. The three CDs contain many numbers which were to become classics, and the arrangements were frequently inventive and innovative.
"Somebody Loves Me" is a popular song, with music written by George Gershwin, and lyrics by Ballard MacDonald and Buddy DeSylva. The song was published in 1924 and featured in George White's Scandals of 1924.
Albert J. "Budd" Johnson III was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who worked extensively with, among others, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, Count Basie, Billie Holiday and, especially, Earl Hines.
"Chicago" is a popular song written by Fred Fisher and published in 1922. The original sheet music variously spelled the title "Todd'ling" or "Toddling." The song has been recorded by many artists, but the best-known versions are by Frank Sinatra, Ben Selvin and Judy Garland. The song alludes to the city's colorful past, feigning "... the surprise of my life / I saw a man dancing with his own wife", mentioning evangelist Billy Sunday as having not been able to "shut down" the city, and State Street where "they do things they don't do on Broadway".
Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band is a 2003 three-disc compilation combining the master takes of all the recordings by Duke Ellington's Orchestra during the years of 1940 to 1942 with an additional nine tracks, including five alternative takes and four additional masters. An expanded version of The Blanton–Webster Band, this reissue, according to Allmusic, "truly worth either an initial investment or reinvestment". All About Jazz: New York observed that these performances, from what is often considered "the band in its prime", "not only set the standard for big bands and jazz orchestras, but created an ideal near insurmountable to improve upon". The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this compilation as part of its suggested "Core Collection."
George "Buster" Cooper was an American jazz trombonist.
"Margie", also known as "My Little Margie", is a 1920 popular song composed in collaboration by vaudeville performer and pianist Con Conrad and ragtime pianist J. Russel Robinson, a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Lyrics were written by Benny Davis, a vaudeville performer and songwriter. The song was introduced by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1920 as Victor 78, 18717-A, in a medley paired with "Singin' the Blues". The B side was "Palesteena". The ODJB recorded their instrumental version on December 1, 1920.
Other popular versions in 1920-21 were by Gene Rodemich; Eddie Cantor; Ted Lewis; and Frank Crumit. The Rega Dance Orchestra recorded the song in October, 1920 for Okeh Records, 4211.
"Just You, Just Me" is a song from the 1929 musical film Marianne, composed by Jesse Greer with lyrics by Raymond Klages. It was introduced by Marion Davies and Lawrence Gray. The song has had many revisions after its first appearance and has become a jazz standard, having been recorded instrumentally by Red Norvo, Stan Tracey, Oscar Peterson and Lester Young, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Les Paul, Benny Carter, Buddy Bregman, Tex Beneke, Coleman Hawkins, Harry James, Erroll Garner, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Joe Pass, Buddy Tate and Abdullah Ibrahim, Les Brown, Bill Evans, Bill Coleman and Duke Ellington.
"Sugar", also known as "That Sugar Baby o' Mine", is a popular song by Maceo Pinkard, his wife Edna Alexander and Sidney D. Mitchell. Recorded by Ethel Waters on February 20, 1926, it soon achieved chart success.
Ellington '55 is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded for the Capitol label in 1953 and 1954 and released in 1955. The album features the Ellington Orchestra's performances of popular big band compositions and was reissued on CD with two bonus tracks in 1999.
Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live is a live album by the Duke Ellington Orchestra that won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 1980. The album was recorded at a dance in Fargo, North Dakota.
The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World is a 1967 live album featuring Duke Ellington and his orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, T-Bone Walker, Coleman Hawkins, Clark Terry and Zoot Sims. It was released in 1975.
"There's a Lull in My Life" is a 1937 song, written by Mack Gordon and Harry Revel for the film Wake Up and Live. A "torch ballad", it was released in 1937 as a single and became Alice Faye's only major hit record. Other popular versions in 1937 were by Teddy Wilson, George Hall and His Orchestra, and by Duke Ellington.
All Star Road Band Volume 2 is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded at the Holiday Ballroom in Chicago for radio broadcast and first released as a double LP on Bob Thiele's Doctor Jazz label in 1985.
The Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame is part of a US-based non-profit organization that began operations in 1978 and continues to the present (2022) in San Diego County, California. David Larkin is current president.
